1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drying apparatus configured to dry sheets having a high moisture content after printing, and a printing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-221658, a drying apparatus configured to dry wet sheets (photosensitive material) in a short time is disclosed. The sheets are dried by blowing hot air onto the surfaces of the sheets carried by a conveying belt in the drying apparatus. Simultaneously, a heating unit is provided on the side of the back surface of the conveying belt to heat the sheets from the back surfaces by heating the conveying belt, thereby accelerating drying of the sheets.
When blowing hot air onto a sheet as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-221658, it is difficult to blow an airflow evenly over a sheet surface. Therefore, uneven drying energy is applied to the sheet surface, and hence uneven drying may result. The uneven drying may cause unevenness of the image on the sheet. Therefore, the invention provides an apparatus which is capable of applying drying energy more evenly to the sheet than in the related art and which is capable of reducing the probability of uneven drying.
In a field such as a print laboratory where a large amount of printing is required, how to increase the printing speed while maintaining image quality is a challenge. There is also an increasing demand for printing on both sides of the sheet considering binding of photo books or the like. One of key points for increasing the printing speed is how much the sheet drying time can be shortened. In particular, a large amount of ink is applied on the front and back surfaces of the sheet in the case of duplex printing. Therefore, shortening of the drying time contributes significantly to an improvement of a total print throughput. Accordingly, the present invention provides an apparatus which is capable of performing duplex printing extremely quickly using a continuous sheet.